The Box! (Pic heavy sorry!)

Post by **Lauren** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:30 pm

Well, I dont know whether I'm doing the right thing here. They have both been getting a little close to one another lately, we even had a breakthrough the other day, Lola let Jibby preen her ALL OVER and boy was he a happy fella, Jibby almost did 'the naughty' on her.. almost!
It might not happen this season, but just incase I got them a nest box. Which she is so fascinated by! She hasnt left it alone!
Question: Is this the right size box? I can take it back and get a bigger one if needed? Also I have nowhere to put it! Where should I put it? Its just sitting ontop of Jibbys cage for now.
Anyways, Here she is checking it out.. *Wouldnt I feel stupid if she actually turned out to be male and shes just tricking me all this time?* :shock:

And some randoms.. :wink:

..

Hehe I just noticed Jibby in this pic.. LOL...

Post by **Lauren** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 5:16 pm

And she just ventured into the box!!!... :lol:

Oliver and Justin · Post by **Oliver and Justin** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 7:03 pm

Lauren you may have little ones coming

Keep a eye on the two love bugs. :lol:

bastard_x5 · Post by **bastard_x5** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:31 pm

lauren your birds are gorgeous, are you planning to breed them?

Post by **Lauren** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:27 am

Thanx! Its all up to them if they want to make babies or not, Im not fussed either way. As much as I love them being tame pets, they seem to be in love, and I cant stop love! lol. They are still as tame as they were before even now which has surprised me, but Im not holding on to any hopes. We'll see how things turn out. Its breeding season here now and they are completely all over each other lately. I thought it might be a good idea to get a box just incase she decides to lay any eggs, so shes got a cosy place to lay them, as shes been climbing into cupboards and draws alot lately. But I'm beginning to doubt they will get to that stage this year.

The other day they were close to 'doing it'. Jibby had a chance and Lola let him preen her all over and then climb ontop of her! Thats what he did. He placed his foot on her back and was sitting half ontop of her. But he stopped, then regurgitated some food, gave her a kiss and had a nap. I'm sure thats not how they do it! But he is male. haha. *Jokes* It freaked me out as I wasnt expecting it! I didnt think it would happen so quickly and so soon. Or even if he'd actually try it!
Well, when I got Lola, I thought if she is a female. I wont interfere with what they want to do. I still think this, now that I am 99% sure Lola is female! :wink:

ryelle · Post by **ryelle** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 3:47 am

awww she looks so cute with that box! i think she loves it

i know we cant tell if they are male or female until they do or dont grow a ring in, but surely they must be able to tell the breed of each other before then?

hehehee youve gone from having two cheeky little brothers/friends to having a birdy couple all in lurve and new owners of their first home :shock:

Post by **kyria** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:23 am

Looks perfect Lauren. You will truly know when she loves it, they will make it their own and before you know it the entrance will be all chewed and nasty ... lol .. put some nesting material in there and see if she starts kicking it around, thats called working the box. This just might be the thing to entice her to submit totally :wink:

By the way do you know a good place to get good IRN nesting material, mickey and kai are at it all the time and I want to put their box back in with them, but I can't find any good material around, or anyone have suggestions of anything else I can use thats easy to come by ?

Gemstone · Post by **Gemstone** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:18 am

IRNs preferance in box size seems to be dependant on the birds, personlly i perfer the approach of getting the longest box i can (tallest)
and filling it near to the top with nesting so the hen can decide for her self how deep she wants it.
the base size of yours looks fine.
not sure if you have breed before so here is a couple of small pointers while i'm typing.

if she decides to nest, you probably won't see her for a little while, this isn't a problem as jibby will be feeding her. if jibby likes a shower from a spray bottle spray him every few days, this helps transfer moisture into the nest box and create humidity.
other than that nothing really changes, just be extra generous on the fresh food and water.

hope it all works out for ya.

ps: remember for the most part jibby is learning what to do too.

Fah · Post by **Fah** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:35 pm

I actually just use a Fine mulch, from non pine wood materials. Its just like breaking down material inside a natural tree hollow. It has to have no additives (ie; fertilisers, just a plain old boring wood chip mulch from your typical aussie environment, many stores sell it dirt cheap, hardware stores OR dedicated bird stores).

Indoor birds you should prob take the nest box away in non breeding season to keep them friendly.

Post by **Lauren** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:00 am

Thankyou!
Well, they mated for about 2 minutes thismorning!!! Jibby was sooo gentle and Lola was soo trusting of him. Too cute! So if they are successful we might be expecting!

She definately likes the box as she wont let me touch it now and does a crazy growl if I dare to touch the box. Jibbys been trying to feed her constantly and hes been super excited by everything she does. Its so funny!

I have put pine shavings in the bottom. We picked up the pine shavings from the local pet warehouse when we got the box.
Fah, I didnt even think of going to the hardware store. Silly me, I think the pine shavings were about 6 dollars for 230 cu in and the brand is 'kaytee'. Only got it there because it was just convenient. I will be taking the box away after breeding season has finished.

Im surprised as they are both as tame as they were before? They both still climb all over me, steal my food, give me kissies and cuddles. I wonder if this will change if they successfully breed. Im wondering what my chances are. But either way, Im happy.
I'm also going to have to either get a bigger cage within the next week or 2 or let them stay outside the cage to access the box if she does lay as I dont think putting the box in the cage is going to work.

Lol, I cant help but think, my big boy Jibs is not a virgin anymore .. and neither is she! haha. I hope they are successful. Jibby trys so hard and shes finally giving in to his efforts.

Post by **kyria** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 2:32 am

Well our Kai stayed as tame as he was and he still is, he was very trusting of me with mickey and the babies, but a little warey and ever watchful, as I was of him. After breeding season he was just the same as ever, now I don't know about the female, as Mickey was a wild bird when we got her, still , she saw that Kai trusted us and that seemed to be just fine with her. She has tamed down alot over the past 2 years all simply by watching the others trusting us.

Lauren, now that they have made the connection, they will be bonking their little hearts out all the way through until they have their clutch laid. then you will not see Lola much at all for a long while. Jibby will be pre occupied with feeding her and protecting the nest, so he may not be as interested in being with you during the whole process.

Let it all happen and just know that later when its all over, they should go right back to the way they were before.

julie · Post by **julie** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 3:34 am

I use petpac pine shavings, you should be able to get it from pet shops. It has a pic of a rat and rabbit on the pack.

Post by **Lauren** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:56 pm

Well, Just as I say they are both still tame, today they changed! Jibby just snapped into protective action as soon as she started 'working the nest'. He made it very clear I was too close today. My fault! I gave them a plate of vegies, aparently I hung around too long and I got nipped inbetween my thumb and index. He also attacked the camera sitting on the computer desk. No paparazzi! Hes just being a good hubby. I understand and I'm keeping my distance. :wink:

Just dont know how Im going to get the cages out to clean them in the meantime as its cage cleaning day. This is going to be tricky. hehe.

CalamariBaby · Post by **CalamariBaby** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:00 am

Congratulations! How exciting for you all. I wish you the best and can't wait to hear more. By the way, those pics are so cute. Jibby and Lola look absolutely beautiful.

ikklehen · Post by **ikklehen** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 2:22 pm

How adorable! I hope you have a little clutch to come! I love your pictures birds they are beautiful! My new addition Beauty is a little scruffy at the moment as he was stressed in his last home so his feathers need to grow back!
I think the 3rd picture up from the bottom of the first post is especially funny as just behind the celery stick is a little green cheek and beady eye peering through! Hee hee! xxx

CalamariBaby · Post by **CalamariBaby** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:10 pm

I love that one..........too funny.

Post by **Datsun and Family** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 1:20 am

OMG so exciting!